Protecting Your Community From Litigation Webinar Recording

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 19 October 2020

A Q&A webinar recording on Protecting Your Community from Litigation with Tressler attorney, Katerina Tsoukalas-Heitkemper, is now available on Youtube.

Katerina discusses working with board members who have their own agendas, conducting Community association business in the Fall of 2020 and beyond, and being proactive vs. reactive. 

Learn more, here. 

City of Chicago Announces Updated COVID-19 Business Guidelines

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 13 October 2020

The City of Chicago recently announced new COVID-19 guidelines for businesses that became effective October 1st. 

One important guidelines is that residential property managers are asked to continue to limit indoor gatherings to six people or less. This would require a five guest limit for single-member households.

For a complete list of current updates, click here.

7 Things To Know About Political Signs and Community Associations

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 05 October 2020

Condominiums and homeowner/townhome associations can choose to regulate signage in communities, including posters, flags, banners, and other displays. 

During election season, it is especially important for board members and property managers to establish and communicate regulations. 

Below are seven best practices to reference when discussing political signage policy:

1. Establish common areas, including lobbies, business centers, gyms, laundry rooms, elevators, recreation areas, and other shared spaces, as neutral zones where political signs are banned. 
2. To avoid eyesores, establish rules about the types of signs that owners may display. 
3. Establish rules about appropriate sign dimensions to prevent disruptively or dangerously large signs. 
4. Establish rules that stipulate a specific amount of signs that can be kept on display. 
5. Some locations are unsafe to post signs. Establish rules around where signs are allowed and where they are not.
6. Following Election Day, set clear time frames for how long signs are allowed to stay up.
7. Ban and remove any political signs with offensive language or explicit imagery. 

Learn more here. 

How to Handle Harassment

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 29 September 2020

 It is likely that any some point you’ll have at least one disruptive neighbor. 

While this may be an inevitable cost of communal living, there are some situations that cross the line and become harassment. 

Unfortunately, harassment can often be difficult to identify and harder to prove.  

In Illinois, if harassment is taking place in a community common area, it is the board’s responsibility to regulate behavior and prohibit it. Most condo declarations in Illinois have anti-nuisance provision, allowing boards to take action in situations that cause disturbance to unit owners in common areas.

Housing providers and employers, co-ops, condominiums, and housing associations can also find themselves in the middle of discrimination and harassment suits. Board members are particularly prone to being targeted by and accused of harassing behavior. Each of these cases will require a different approach to resolution and will need to be treated on a case by case basis. 

Learn more here.